


But I Make These High Heels Work

by immafishcracker



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Crossdressing Lance, Cuban Lance (Voltron), Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Gay Keith, Keith/Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance (Voltron) Angst, Lance kisses someone other than Keith, Lance will flirt with literally anyone, Langst, M/M, PINING KEITH, Pre-Relationship, Pre-confession, bi lance, keith is jealous, klangst, pining lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-05-02
Packaged: 2019-04-29 06:17:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14466786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/immafishcracker/pseuds/immafishcracker
Summary: Exultan is a desert planet inhabited by a resilient, adaptable species of aliens, who can live in even some of the harshest of climates. They would be valuable allies to the Voltron Coalition. Unfortunately, the Exultans have grown paranoid thanks to the Galra, and will only allow Allura and two handmaidens to attend the alliance conference. Que cross-dressing Lance!





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place somewhere in season one or two, before the lion switch. I kinda uploaded this on a whim, so just tell me what you think. Warning for a little coarse language, but other than that this story is pretty tame.
> 
> Title is from Panic! at the Disco's 'Don't Threaten Me with a Good Time'

Lance loved his best friend, but sometimes Hunk really needed to learn to keep his mouth shut.

It had all started as they were preparing to land on Exultan, a small planet completely blanketed by desert. According to Coran, the natives were a resilient people, who had learned to live in even the harshest of conditions. They would be a valuable ally to the coalition.

Unfortunately any talk of alliances were cut short before they had begun as a come from a servant of the Exul king reached the Castle ship.

"I apologize for the distrustful nature of this message," the messenger began, and Lance could practically _feel_ the entire team tensing up, "but thousands of years of Galra control have made my people wary of outsiders. We would be more comfortable if Princess Allura would come with only two of her handmaidens for the negotiations, instead of the paladins."

Lance raised an eyebrow, clearly, the Exultans had gotten the wrong idea about Allura. She didn't _have_ any handmaidens or servants, and she wasn't pampered or spoiled. She hadn't had any royal comforts since Altea had been destroyed.

"What do you mean, handmaidens?" Of course Keith had to shoot his mouth off at the king, "We sure as hell won't be sending Allura alone to-"

" _Keith_!" Allura suddenly snapped, cutting the dark haired paladin off abruptly. She turned back to the hologram screen, a very familiar look of determination in her eyes, "We will of course, have the paladins step back. Exultan's safety is our first priority in these negotiations, after all."

"But Allura!"

Allura raised a hand, again silencing the red paladin, "No, Keith. We will honor their wishes. Although, I have one request. If the negotiations go well, I would like the paladins to join me afterwards."

The messenger smiled, his yellow tinted lips tilting up, "I'm sure that can be arranged for. In fact, if the alliance is successful, I'm sure King Kansapte will approve of an event in celebration. Prince Tikroz is very fond of parties."

"We would be honored to attend," a small grin crossed Allura's face, but her tone was still serious. The video flickered, then disappeared as the communications were cut off, and Allura turned to the team with a sigh.

"What the hell, Allura!"

"Keith," Shiro started, his tone low in warning, but Lance cut him off.

"No, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I have to agree with Keith this time!" He folded his arms across his chest, a display that might've seemed childish, but at this point Lance really didn't care, "Allura doesn't _have_ any handmaidens, unless you count Coran, and we _aren't_ sending her down there alone. Don't forget what happened on Juyter!"

A grim quiet fell over the team, their last diplomacy mission flashing vividly in the minds. The inhabitants of Juyter had claimed to be friends of the coalition, but had sold Voltron out to the Galra the moment it had landed on their planet. It had been a rough fight to escape, and nearly everyone was injured.

"This won't be like Juyter," Allura broke the silence, her eyes flashing, "The castle ship will be orbiting the planet, ready for any approaching Galran ships, and I _won't_ be alone on Exultan. I can bring Pidge with me and introduce her as a handmaiden."

There was a pause as everyone considered the idea.

"I dunno," Hunk finally said, bringing his hand to his mouth to chew at a fingernail nervously, "I still don't like the idea of you two going down there alone."

Pidge scowled, her hands resting firmly on her hips, "What other choice do we have? We _need_ this alliance, and I'm willing to go down there with Allura if this is how we get it."

"The Exul said we could send two handmaidens with Allura," Shiro frowned, "I would feel better if we could send three together rather than two."

"But we only have two girls!" Lance exclaimed, he had never had a problem with the clear unbalance of genders on the team, but right now it was beginning to be an issue, "There's no one else to send!"

"Hey!" Pidge shouted, hands slipping off her waist to clench at her sides, "Girls aren't the _only_ ones to be servants!"

"Yeah! Well he said hand _maidens_! Last time I checked, that meant girls!"

"Why can't we just say we're a non-binary species?" Keith suggested, "I mean, the universe is a big place, there's got to be tons of planets that have more than two genders."

Allura sighed, "I would Keith, but the Exuls are a paranoid people. I'm afraid they would be offended if we brought anyone resembling their views of a male."

Pidge scoffed, "That's stupid. Male and female aren't just physical. I look exactly the same as I did when I was pretending to be a boy and you all see me as female."

"Pidge, I'm sure Allura's just saying that the Exuls are on edge after so many years fighting off the Galra, and wouldn't react well to any surprises," Shiro said, his deep voice soothing. Pidge grumbled but didn't argue.

"So what? Are we gonna go find some random alien girl to go with Allura and Pidge?" Keith scoffed, and Lance had to agree.

It wasn't that he didn't want to meet any new cool aliens, and having more girls on board would really be cool, but they just didn't have time, and this was _their_ problem. Asking some poor girl to enter a tense war conference wasn't fair.

"Wait… maybe we don't have to find a new girl."

Everyone turned to stare at the yellow paladin, and Lance could practically see the cogs turning in his best friends brain. He had a _really_ bad feeling about where this was going.

"What do you mean, number two?" Coran asked.

" _Well_ , back at the Garrison, I got bored and was looking through Lance's phone…"

"Hunk, if you're going where I think you're going with this..." yeah, Lance was pretty sure he knew what Hunk was suggesting.

"And I found all these pictures…"

Lance's mind was quickly switching to panic mode, "Hunk! You are seriously breaching best friend secrecy code!"

"You see, his sister is super into cosmetology…"

"Hunk, my man, one more word and you can say adios to my mama's famous paella recipe!"

Hunk gave Lance an apologetic look, but plowed on anyways, "So she used to play dress up on him, and y'know, do his makeup. He made a pretty convincing girl."

"Hunk!"

Pidge looked like Christmas had come early, "Really? Lance? In drag? Oh man, that's something I _have_ to see!"

Some of the tension melted away, despite Lance fizzling with anger. Keith was smirking, and even Shiro managed a smile.

"You're joking!" Keith chuckled, and _damn_ , even in humiliation, Lance had to admit it was worth a little embarrassment to make the stupid emo boy laugh, "There's no way Lance could convince anyone he's a girl!"

And as much as Lance hated this situation, he just had to rise to Keith's bait.

"Excuse me? I'm ten times more convincing of a girl than you'd ever be!"

"Yeah, If I hadn't known better, I would have thought Lance was his sister or something!" Hunk exclaimed.

"I'm sure Lance would be a very pretty girl," Allura interrupted with a laugh, rolling her eyes "but I wouldn't ask him to put himself in that position if he were uncomfortable with it."

Lance shifted on his feet sheepishly. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "If there's really no other way… I guess I could pretend to be a girl and go with Pidge and Allura."

"Really!" Pidge asked excitedly.

"Really?" Keith asked skeptically.

"Yeah, I mean, it's kinda the same thing Pidge did to get into the Garrison, right?"

Shiro frowned in concern, "Lance, you really don't have to do this if you don't want to. We can find something else."

"No, no, it's okay. Just one condition though."

"And what's that?"

"No pictures, Pidge!"

"Aww! C'mon!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think? I have the next few chapters already written, should I upload them? I've been writing and reading fanfiction for years, but I've never put anything online, so this is kinda my debut. I always thought my first uploaded fanfiction would be either Hetalia or Supernatural, so I was a little surprised when I went with Voltron, but I'm actually pretty proud of this story so...


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team helps Lance get all dressed up for the alliance conference!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter two!  
> Thank you SO SO much to everyone who commented on the last chapter! I wasn't expecting so much positive feedback, and you were all so nice! It really motivated me to get you guys this chapter as soon as possible!  
> This chapter starts to bring in the Klance, so be ready for lots of pining and denial (:

“Ouch! Not so close!”

“Stop moving so much!”

“Oh yeah, and just stay still as you jab my eye out?”

“I’m _sorry_ , I don’t even _wear_ makeup!”

“Oh for god’s sake, just let me do it!”

Keith rolled his eyes, watching Lance and Pidge wrestle over the eyeliner brush. They’d been arguing over Lance’s makeup for the past varga, and Keith thought it was about time Pidge just gave up and let Lance do it on his own.

They’d camped out in the community bathroom on the second floor, every makeup item they could find scattered across the counter, along with the entirety of Lance’s skin care products. As feminine as Lance could get, it would still take a lot of work to really sell him being a girl. This plan was hardly foolproof, and Keith had a bad feeling that several things could go very wrong.

But still, however ridiculous this whole thing was, after the past several stressful movements, it was good to see everyone having fun with Lance’s clothes and makeup. Hunk and Coran had made a trip to the nearest space mall to find a wig, Allura had been digging through her wardrobe to find some clothes, and Pidge had volunteered to help with Lance’s makeup, despite knowing very little about it herself.

“Lance! I think I found a dress that will suffice!” Allura bounded into the bathroom, a mess of white and baby blue bundled in her arms, “It may be a little long in the legs, but I do believe it will fit!”

“Cool,” Lance said without looking up, focused entirely on his eyeliner, “give it to Pidge, I’ll try it on as soon as I’ve finished my face.”

Allura handed Pidge the dress, and she held it up, letting the skirt unfurl. Even Keith could tell it was a good choice. The blue was almost exactly the same color as Lance’s lion, and it would probably look like Lance’s armor when he put it on. Just… as a dress.

Pidge frowned, “I dunno, Allura. This’ll be really loose in the chest on him.”

“I’ll just have to stuff.” Lance said casually. He twisted the eyeliner brush back into it’s tube and reached for a pallet of powders.

Allura nodded, “I believe there are some rags in the medical wing that you could use. I could go get them.”

“I’ll go with you,” Pidge announced, “I’m sick of Lance shouting at me.” She set the dress on the clear end of the counter and skirted around where Keith was leaning against a toilet stall to get to the door. The two left, leaving Lance and Keith in the bathroom alone.

The bathroom became awkwardly quiet as Lance reached for a brush and started applying what Keith had thought was eyeshadow to his chin and cheekbones.

“So… your sister used to do your makeup?” Keith hadn’t meant for it to sound so smug, but it was too late to take it back as Lance completely blanched.

“No, no, no!” He chided loudly, “You don’t have siblings, you don’t get to tease me about _this_!”

“What? Why does me not having siblings have anything to do with it?”

“You don’t get it, man,” Lance stopped to glare at Keith through the mirror, “I’m the _baby_! That automatically means my older siblings get to do anything with me! I’m like their own personal… what’s it called? That thing you put clothes on?”

“Uh, a hanger?”

“No, no! It’s like what stores use to show off clothes, you know?”

“A mannequin?”

“Yeah! I’m like their own personal mannequin! Especially my sister, Veronica. She used to dress me up and do my nails and everything!”

“And you let her?”

Lance frowned, shrugging as he closed the powder pallet and grabbed a tube of lip gloss, “I dunno. I didn’t really mind that much, I guess I just liked spending time with her.”

Keith got the sudden impression that Lance enjoyed being his sisters Barbie doll a lot more than he pretended he did. He sort of understood, painting nails with Veronica was probably the same sort of sibling activity as training with Shiro. No matter how many times he got his ass kicked, he still enjoyed spending the time with his brother-figure.

He was shoved out of his thoughts as Lance spun around with a full face of makeup.

“What do you think? I still need to do my eyebrows, but I’m almost done.”

Well shit. Lance was apparently _really_ good with makeup, especially eye makeup. Were his eyes _always_ that blue? _Goddamnit Lance_.

“You look ridiculous.” Keith said instead, but Lance just smirked.

“Ha! You’re just jealous that I look better than you as a boy _and_ as a girl!”

 _You’re not wrong about that_.

Bad Keith! No weird gay feelings for your teammates! None! Shelve it here and now!

Thankfully, Shiro chose that moment to come and check on them, “Hey guys, Hunk and Coran are back- am I interrupting something?”

Lance turned back to the mirror, grabbing an eyebrow brush, “Nah, we’re good. Keith was just telling me how much he loved my eyelashes.”

“Wha- What?!” Keith spluttered, feeling his cheeks burn, “No I was _not_!”

Shiro chuckled, giving Keith a knowing look. Keith avoided his gaze, choosing instead to glare at the tiled floor. Yup, Shiro was definitely an older brother.

Lance was seemingly oblivious to this interaction, “Did you see what color wig they got me? I swear to god, if they got blonde… that’s going to clash with my skintone so bad.”

Shiro shook his head with a smile, “I’m pretty sure they didn’t get you a blonde wig. Where did Pidge and Allura go?”

“Med wing. I needed something to stuff the front of my dress with- Hunk, you beautiful human!”

Hunk and Coran had appeared behind Shiro, Hunk carrying a long, brunette wig.

“We tried to get you one that matched your real hair color,” Hunk explained, handing it to Lance, who immediately started attacking it with a brush, “And I told him not to, but Coran _insisted_ on getting you these.”

Coran held out a pair of very high, and very sparkly heels, “Of course I insisted! Why, diplomacy nearly seventy percent appearance! We can’t have you meeting the Exuls without looking your absolute best!”

“Uh, sure Coran, but don’t you think these are a little… much?” Shiro asked, staring at the heels in utter confusion.

Lance looked up from the wig to catch a glimpse of the heels, his eyes widening, “Woah, Stilettos? _Nice_!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Constructive criticism is welcome! Or just leave a comment, I'd love to hear what you guys think!  
> I have all four chapters written, so chapter three should be out tomorrow!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The alliance conferences are going smoothly, but a certain Exul Prince has been eyeing Lance a bit too much for the team's liking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter three, as promised!  
> Thanks SO much to everyone who's been following this story, I think I can definitely mark it as a success!  
> Sorry, this chapter is a bit shorter, but chapter four will be better!  
> A bit more swearing in this one, because it's in Pidge's point of view and she has a dirty mouth (I love her to death though)

 

Diplomacy conferences were boring as  _ hell _ .

Pidge fidgeted in her dress. King Kansapte had been rampling for vargas, and her feet were absolutely aching in the tight dress shoes Allura had found for her. Though Pidge knew Lance’s feet must’ve hurt even worse, as he had actually gone through with wearing those six-inch stilettos.

The two had been told to stand on either side of Allura’s chair at the very beginning of the meeting, and Pidge was starting to get antsy. She was hungry, her legs hurt, and the stupid dress was pinching her side uncomfortably. 

Don’t get her wrong, Pidge liked dresses. Hell, she used to wear them all the time back when she still went by Katie. It was just that this dress came a little too low on her chest, and no matter how young Allura was when she’d worn it, she was still _much_ taller than Pidge. Damn her short genetics. At least it was long enough that she could bend her knees without the royal family noticing. 

Speaking of the royal family, that weird Prince Tikroz was  _ staring  _ at her. At first she’d thought he was just looking at Allura as she was talking about the coalition, but no, his eyes were unmovingly trained at a spot just over Allura’s shoulder. 

No, wait… he wasn’t staring at Pidge, he was staring at  _ Lance _ .

Pidge frowned and looked over at her fellow paladin. She had no idea how he looked so comfortable while everyone else in the room was so tense. Especially considering he was wearing about four pounds of makeup and an itchy wig.

She had to admit, he  _ did  _ make a good girl. Slender frame, hair braided around his shoulder, and his bra stuffed just enough to fill out the dress, but not so much to look unnatural. Of course  _ she  _ could see through his disguise. Pidge knew him too well to be fooled. He was too sharp and angular, and his jaw had a distinctly masculine edge to it. Still, the royals bought it, and that was all that mattered.

Though, seeing the way Tikroz was staring at Lance, maybe they bought it a little  _ too  _ well. 

Pidge would need to keep an eye on that one.

* * *

When they said the Exultans could throw a party, they weren’t kidding.

Their palace’s ballroom was  _ huge _ , and completely decked out- the polished sandstone completely covered in streamers and brightly colored lights. A group of Exuls sat near the front of the ballroom, playing a strange assortment of space instruments to create an upbeat sort of tune for everyone to dance to. Waiters weaved through the crowd with trays of a strange, golden colored drink that Shiro had forbidden them from accepting after taking a sip.

“I don’t care that there aren’t any age restriction laws in outer space,” he’d said firmly in response to their complaints, “You are all  _ way  _ too young to be drinking alcohol.” 

“Party pooper,” Pidge muttered, but was quickly distracted as another waiter flitted past with a tray full of finger foods.

“Hey, has anyone seen Lance?” Hunk asked, emerging from the crowd to join them at the back wall of the ballroom.

Pidge frowned, scanning the masses of dancing aliens. The bright blue of Lance’s dress was absent among the earthy colors of the Exul’s clothing.

“He  _ was  _ just here a moment ago…” Allura said, her voice trailing off as she tried to remember the last time she’d seen him.

“Did he leave the ballroom?” Shiro asked, using his height to peer over the shoulders of the many party goers. If anyone could spot Lance, it was going to be him.

“We should probably find him,” Hunk said, wringing his hands anxiously, “especially because, y’know, he’s crossdressing.”

Allura nodded in agreement, “Yes, we should split up and search the ballroom for him.”

Pidge saw poor Keith’s eyes widen in terror at the thought of separating. He had been practically glued to Shiro’s side since they had landed on the planet, obviously overwhelmed by the sheer amount of strangers all crowded into one room.

“No, splitting up won’t help, we’ll all get lost too,” Keith gave Pidge a grateful look as the words left her lips, sagging in relief, “I’ll just go look in the hallway, he might’ve just left to find a bathroom or something.”

Allura looked a little confused, but Shiro seemed to understand what Pidge was doing, and gave her a thankful nodd, “Alright, Pidge, just be back in five minutes.”

“Gotcha.”

To be honest, volunteering to be the one to look for Lance wasn’t just for Keith’s benefit. The ballroom was absolutely sweltering and louder than a New York subway. Slipping out and into the outer corridor was like taking a breath of fresh air.

“Now where are you, you stupid noodle boy,” Pidge muttered to herself, picking a direction and setting off down the hallway.

As it turned out, it didn’t take long to find the blue paladin. He wasn’t exactly hiding. And after finding out what he was doing, Pidge almost wished he  _ was  _ hiding.

“Oh my  _ god _ .”

Lance was pinned against the sandstone wall, held there by none other than Prince Tikroz himself. For half a moment, Pidge started to panic, wondering how the hell she was going to pull a man twice her height off her friend, but it soon became clear that Lance was in  _ no  _ need of rescue. The two were making out.  _ Passionately _ . Lance’s hands were tangled through Tikroz’s long, dark hair, and Tikroz’s hands were clenched in the white fabric of Lance’s dress.

“ _ Dude _ ,” was all she could really think to say.

Lance broke the kiss just long enough to gasp out, “Fuck  _ off _ , Pidge.”

“Allura’s gonna have an aneurysm when she finds out!”

Lance didn't bother trying to respond, just flashing a middle finger over Tikroz’s oblivious shoulder.

Pidge rolled her eyes and faked a gag, vividly reminded of Matt’s many escapades, and she was once again  _ very  _ glad that she was ace.  “I’m gonna go gouge my eyes out.” She groaned, spinning around and heading back to the ballroom.

Judging by the sounds coming from behind her, she should probably do her ears too while she was at it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOOO BUT KLANCE!  
> Don't worry, there's more awkward Keith and oblivious Lance in the next chapter!  
> Lance and Pidge are exasperated siblings  
> Pls leave a Kudos or a Comment! (or both :P) And tell me if I made any mistakes (I tend to over comma everything)  
> Love u all! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith never thought he could ever have a chance with Lance, but he might think differently after finding out that Lance isn't exactly straight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for all the super nice comments! I'm really excited for this chapter!  
> Here we get the team's reactions to finding out that Lance is bi!

 

Keith didn't like parties- never had, and probably never would. They were too loud, too stuffy, and had too many people to deal with. If he had a choice, he would have just stayed up in the castle ship with Coran.

But apparently he didn't have a choice. Allura said it would raise moral for the people of the coalition to be able to actually see the paladins. So here he was, clinging to Shiro in the very back of the ballroom and trying to fend off a pending panic attack.

“Just a few more hours,” Shiro mumbled, as if he knew what Keith was thinking.

He probably did, considering how tightly Keith was latched onto his human wrist.

“You okay, man?” Hunk asked, and Keith realised the rest of the team was staring at him, “You're looking kinda pale.”

“I’m fine.” He lied, letting go of Shiro’s wrist. He wasn't a  _ child _ , he didn't need Shiro to hold his hand. He really didn't know why he was freaking out so much, it usually wasn't this bad.

Thankfully, their attention was drawn from Keith as Pidge weedled her way through the crowd to rejoin them. She looked like a little grasshopper, drowning in one of Allura’s old lime green dresses.

“Did you find Lance?” Shiro asked.

Pidge just nodded, looking flustered. Her face was red, and Keith didn't think he’d ever seen her look so embarrassed.

Hunk raised an eyebrow, “Where is he?”

“He’s…  _ occupied _ .” Pidge muttered fiddling with the edge of her bayard, half hidden in the folds of her dress.

Allura frowned, “If he’s off blowing his cover by flirting with some girl-”

“I really don’t think you need to worry about that…”

And what the hell was  _ that  _ supposed to mean?

“So… what is he doing?”

Pidge just rolled her eyes, pointing towards the large, arched doorway where Lance had just slid back into the ballroom, “Ask him yourself,” and she slipped off, following a waiter with a tray of snacks she’d been eyeing earlier.

Someone else was coming in behind Lance- was that the Prince? The team had been introduced to the royal family upon arriving, the King personally welcoming them to the planet, and Keith was pretty sure that the man trailing closely behind Lance was Tikroz, heir to the throne.

Tikroz grinned, trailing an arm lightly across Lance’s shoulders, then shoved his way to the front of the ballroom to join the rest of the royal family. Lance’s eyes followed him, a dopey grin spreading across his face, before turning around and looking across the crowd until his gaze landed on the team.

He pushed his way over to them, “Hey guys, what’s goin’ on?”

“Lance, where have you been?” Allura asked, even though it was pretty damn obvious what Lance had been doing. His braid was half undone, his dress was disheveled, and the glitter of his lip gloss was spread half-way across his face.

“Just getting some air.” He lied, still grinning like an idiot. Keith saw Hunk shake his head, his lips turning up into an amused grin.

Allura just nodded obliviously, “Alright, next time don’t wander off too far, though.” Seriously, how could she not see what was going on? Even Keith,  _ Keith _ , epitome of cultural ignorance could tell Lance and Tikroz had been getting it on in some deserted hallway.

A sharp pang suddenly tore through Keith’s chest. What was wrong with him? It was a party, of course Lance would be flirting with the locals. They were off duty, and Lance had certainly done enough for this mission to earn him the right to kiss whoever he so pleased. So why was Keith so torn up about it.

“Damn, I can’t even feel my feet anymore.” Lance groaned, leaning heavily against the wall, “These heels are  _ killing  _ me!”

“Language,” Shiro chided, probably just out of habit, but even he looked entertained by Lance’s antics, “I told you they were a bad idea.”

“Yeah, well that was before I knew I would be standing in them all day!”

Hunk chuckled, “Maybe you should go back to the castle and change. It’s pretty warm in here, it can’t be comfortable in that dress and all that makeup.”

Lance shifted from one foot to the other, wincing, “Yeah, maybe that’s a good idea.”

Shiro sighed, “Alright, I’ll tell Coran you’re headed back. Why don’t you take Keith with you?”

Keith’s gaze snapped up to Shiro in disbelief. Was he giving Keith an escape? Even if it were with post-make out session Lance, Keith would gladly take the excuse to leave. He gave Shiro a weak grin, and the older man smiled back.

Lance shrugged, “Okay, c’mon mullet, let’s blow this popsicle stand!”

_ What? _ Popsicle stand? Sometimes Lance said the weirdest things… 

Lance linked arms with Keith, something that Keith usually wouldn’t have allowed, but for once was grateful for. He would have never been able to navigate his way through so many people without Lance’s gentle tugging.

They made it a couple hallways away from the ballroom, the chatter of voices finally fading away, before Lance stopped and pulled his skirt up to his knees, yanking the heels from his feet. He groaned, stretching out his bare, mocha colored feet.

“Dios mio, my feet are on fire!”

“It’s your own fault for wearing them.”

Lance pouted, “But they’re  _ pretty _ _!_ ”

“Who cares? Why would you wear them if they hurt your feet that much?” Keith really didn’t understand some people’s need to look good. All he needed his clothes to be were comfortable and functional.

Lance just shook his head in disbelief, and tried to take a step forward, but staggered and almost fell. Keith instinctively grabbed his shoulders to steady him, keeping him upright.

“Thanks,” Lance panted, “I guess I really  _ fell  _ for you.”

Keith rolled his eyes, “You know that joke is old as hell, right?”

Lance laughed, “I guess, but that's the cool thing about space: there’s gotta be at least one planet that hasn’t heard it.”

“ _ Sure _ .” Keith ducked under Lance’s arm, draping it over his shoulder and hooking his arm around the other boy’s waist, “Let’s just get moving.”

He helped a limping Lance through a side door and into the outer city. Hundreds of sandstone houses lined the palace, all connected with a complex network of sandy roads that they would have to walk through to make it to the Castle’s landing site on the edge of the city.

“Are you alright?” 

The question was sudden, and Keith wasn’t sure he had heard it correctly, “What?” He turned to give Lance a confused look.

“You didn’t look so hot back there.”

Keith raised an eyebrow, “ _ You’re _ the one who can barely walk!”

“I mean, yeah, but you still look pretty pale.”

Keith looked away, hoping Lance would get the hint that he didn’t want to talk about it. It seemed he didn’t, as he was still glaring at Keith expectantly. 

“I’m fine. It was just too loud in there.” Keith’s voice was low, and he wasn’t sure if he’d said enough or not, “It’s not usually that bad, I just… I don’t really know what happened…”

Lance hummed, and nodded. He was being more understanding than Keith had expected. He knew Lance was from a large family, and was used to crowds and noise. He thrived in it, and was uncomfortable when it got to quiet, preferring to fill the silence with aimless rambling or music. 

Keith was the opposite. He’d been alone for so long, he was used to the quiet. He was terrible at interacting with others, and if it weren’t for Voltron, he probably would have stayed in his lonely, uncracked shell forever.

The two stumbled through the empty roads. It seemed everyone was celebrating in the palace. Lance reached up and pulled out his hairpins, tugging off his wig. His real hair was sticking up in a dozen different directions.

“I didn’t know you liked boys.” Keith said, breaking the quiet lull they’d worked into.

“Pidge told you about Tikroz?”

“It was pretty obvious.”

There was a pause.

“Yeah, I like boys too. You got a problem with it?”

Keith snorted, almost offended Lance would ask, “No, of course not. I’ve just never seen you flirt with one.”

“I literally flirt with you guys all the time!” Lance laughed, bringing his arm to his face and almost jabbing Keith with the stiletto heels, “I  _ just  _ used a pickup line on you like, five minutes ago!”

Keith slapped Lance’s hand away from his face, “No, I mean like,  _ seriously  _ flirt. Not just your weird teasing!”

Lance gave Keith a strange look, then shrugged. “I dunno. I guess I just prefer girls. I’ll still go for a good looking guy, though.”

They were getting close to the castle ship now.

“So… Tikroz?”

Lance laughed, “ _ What _ _?_ He’s a good kisser! And he’s got nice hair!”

Keith’s face was blazing, “He’s got nice hair? Do you just go after guys for their  _ hair _ ?”

A sly smirk slid across Lance’s lips, “What? Are you jealous?”

“No!”

_ Yes, he really, really was. _

Lance tried to pull on a serious expression, but it was clear that he was barely holding back a smile. “Good. Because, as much crap as I give you about your mullet, you actually have pretty hair too.”

Keith stumbled a little, not knowing how to respond to _that_. Was Lance actually _complimenting_ him? And his _hair_ no less? This was definitely not where he thought this conversation had been headed. Lance’s face suddenly seemed very close, and Keith could see every freckle on that stupidly soft, sun-kissed skin. A mischievous gleam was still shining in his clear, blue eyes.

“And who said I wasn’t being serious when I flirted with you?”

“Wh-what?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oof  
> My boys are so cute (~￣▽￣)~  
> So that's technically the end, but I have another chapter that's basically Lance's pov during the whole Tikroz thing. I should have it up tomorrow, so hang in there!  
> Pls leave a comment telling me if you liked it! (:


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance woos a certain Exul Prince, only to discover that it's not the Prince he's really looking for.  
> Basically, chapter 3 from Lance's point of view.

 

Hot, sweaty, and slightly buzzed, Lance was probably not the prettiest sight to see. Even with his flawless makeup and gorgeous dress. As it turned out, it was  _ really  _ hard to dance in stilettos, his feet ached, and while the Exuls probably couldn’t tell anything was wrong, he was making an absolute fool of himself in front of the other paladins. 

It only got worse when a waiter offered him a drink. He’d stopped drinking as soon as he realised what was in it (getting drunk while crossdressing was  _ not  _ a good idea) but the damage had been done. He was far from tipsy, but not exactly sober.

With all this in mind, it was quite a surprise when the Exul Prince asked him to dance.

Lance had hesitated for a moment, glancing back to where the rest of the team stood at the far wall. He’d been trying to pull Keith away from Shiro to at least join in  _ some  _ of the party activities, but the red paladin stubbornly refused to be anything but a wallflower.

He wasn’t making any progress, so he might as well have a little fun for himself, right?

“I never did catch your name,” Tikroz said, placing a hand at Lance’s waist and swaying to the beat of the music.

“It’s Veronica,” Lance lied, saying the first name that came to mind.

“A beautiful name, for a beautiful woman.” Tikroz complemented with a charming smile, and  _ damn _ , as much as Lance flirted with others, he wasn’t used to it being reciprocated. It was nice, being complimented for something other than fighting against the Galra.

“Your name is pretty too,” Lance responded, though he really didn’t know if it was by Exul standards or not. It had to be okay if they named their Prince it, right?

Tikroz’s deep, amber colored eyes gleamed brightly at the compliment, “Thank you! It is the name of a flower here on Exultan. It only blooms in our wet season, every two rotations, but it is the most colorful plant on the entire planet.”

Lance had no idea how long a rotation was on this planet, but he assumed that it was comparable to an Earth year.

“That’s cool,” he hummed, letting the Prince spin him for a moment before returning to their swaying motion, “Veronica is the name of a flower on Earth, it’s usually purple and really pretty. Though, it’s pretty common, not like your flower.”

Tikroz raised an eyebrow, “Earth is the name of your home planet, correct?”

Lance nodded, not sure what Tikroz was getting at.

“Tell me about this Earth.”

And that was all he needed to say to get Lance going. 

He chattered about the blue skies and warm beaches, about the rain and grass and how he much he missed it. He told Tikroz about animals and cultures and languages until the music changed, and Tikroz started talking about his planet in return. He told Lance about their sunsets and mountains, their art and architecture. He got excited when he told Lance about their annual Sand Festival, when the Royal Family would roam the streets and dine with their citizens. By the wistful look on his face, Lance could tell that Tikroz truly loved his people.

They became so wrapped up in the conversation that Lance forgot to pay attention to what he was doing with his feet, and the heel to his stiletto suddenly slipped out from under him. If Tikroz hadn’t had his hands around Lance’s waist, he probably would have toppled to the floor. As it was, he made an embarrassing squeak of surprise as his ankle collapsed and he slammed into Tikroz’s chest.

“Ow! Sorry, oh my god, sorry!”

“Are you alright?” Tikroz asked, moving his arms to Lance’s shoulders to steady him.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Lance gasped out breathlessly, “Just not used to these shoes.”

Tikroz frowned, looking around the room, “There are many people here. Why don’t we go somewhere less crowded?”

Lance just nodded, still trying to regain his balance, and allowed Tikroz to lead him out of the ballroom and into an outer corridor.

“Thanks,” Lance mumbled, still dizzy from his near fall.

Tikroz grinned, “It is rather impressive that you can walk on those at all.”

“Yeah, well, after this I think I’ll give these bad boy’s a rest.”

Tikroz just stared at him with an expression of confused amusement that reminded Lance of Keith sometimes when he said something particularly ridiculous. Then, to Lance’s surprise, the Prince blurted out, “Can I kiss you?”

Before Lance could really think through what he was doing, he had flung himself at Tikroz, and oh god, it had been so long since he had kissed a guy- kissed anyone, really. He’d forgotten how good it felt, how nice it was to have someone to listen his ramblings and chase away the loneliness that had settled in his chest when they left Earth.

Tikroz pushed Lance’s back to the cool sandstone wall, and Lance threaded his fingers through that stupid pretty hair. How the hell did he keep it so soft in such a dry climate? Lance would  _ definitely  _ need to ask him where he got his hair products.

After they finished making out, of course.

“Oh my  _ god _ .”

The world crashed back down around them at the sound of Pidge’s ever familiar voice, and Lance’s heart sank into his stomach.

“Fuck  _ off _ , Pidge.” He gasped between breaths.

“Allura’s gonna have an aneurysm when she finds out!”

Lance flipped her off, but knew she was right. Hell, Allura wasn’t the only one who would have an aneurysm, the entire team would probably freak out. None of them had any idea that he was bi. He was only out to Hunk.

“I’m gonna go gouge my eyes out.”

Lance and Tikroz broke apart as soon as Pidge was gone, both panting heavily.

“I’m sorry,” Tikroz swallowed nervously, “That was improper, wasn’t it. I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”

Lance shook his head, “No, it’s not your fault, I shouldn’t have… I was just…” he trailed off, not really knowing what he had been planning to say.

“Lonely?” Tikroz suggested, and Lance blanched. “ _ Please _ , I know a lonely kiss when I feel one, Veronica. I’m not the one you want to be kissing, am I?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I saw the way you looked at the Red Paladin. You do not have to lie.”

Lance’s cheeks were practically on fire, “ _ Keith _ ? Wha- I’m not- he’s just-”

Tikroz smirked knowingly, and Lance sighed.

“I’m sorry. I guess I’m just figuring things out.”

“You should tell him how you feel.”

“You think so?”

“Of course.”

There was a pause, the music from the ballroom echoing through the empty hall.

“We should get you back to your team,” Tikroz finally said, taking a step towards the ballroom door, “and I should return to my father.”

“Yeah,” Lance agreed, following him, “Sorry again. This is just a big mess.”

“It was a pleasure dancing with you, Veronica,” a mischievous smile slipped across Tikroz’s face, “or whatever your real name is.”

Lance faltered. He was so stupid. Of course Tikroz would find out, what with all the dancing and kissing.

“I… I can explain,”

Tikroz shook his head and gave Lance a wink. He trailed a reassuring hand across Lance’s shoulder as they re-entered the ballroom, then disappeared back into the crowd.

And Lance couldn’t help but grin.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tikroz is actually a pretty decent dude. I know a lot of you were really nervous about him, and tbh so was I for a little while.   
> I kinda wrote this at one in the morning, and while I definitely edited and revised, it might still be a little rough around the edges.  
> THANK YOU all so much for all the support! I will hopefully be writing more stories in the future! You guys are all so great!  
> Please leave a kudos or a comment if you liked it!


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